And so, my days in New Zealand have finally ended.
No more long waits for an eagerly awaited vacation back there, no more pining and hankering for something that I can no longer have.
I wish I knew what to say.
Nothing can be said; except of the sorrow that plagued me, and left me bereft of any life I once had. Leaving New Zealand broke my heart; for I knew that once I left that Maori soil, I would never feel it beneath my feet ever again. Those last days in Auckland were spent in quiet melancholy, and dread for the day I would have to leave.
And now, in my cosy abode with my guitars by my side, the computer on my lap and my beloved toilet just metres down the hallway; silent tears still slip, for something that I will never have. For New Zealand, my favourite country, and for its lands of mountains and trees and lakes.
Already, things have changed. I used to love Singapore weather, for it gave me permission to lounge about in comfortable shorts, and because of the humidity; removed the burden of constant application of moisturiser. Now, though, the heat of Singapore seems stifling (and it's not even daytime; it's nine thirty, and the air's about twenty five degrees) compared to the chills of North Island. Temperatures in Auckland range from twelve to eighteen degrees, at its hottest. And coupled with the blasting winds, it feels like your face is about to be ripped off with all the cold. But other than that, the weather in North Island, New Zealand, is enjoyable and if not, more than a little uncomfortable when one forgets her jacket.
I don't know what people expect of me, now that I have returned. Change? Oh, yes, one does not visit New Zealand and come back completely unaltered. Now I carry with me the sadness that follows with my leaving of New Zealand, and the petrifying dread of a new year. I can only describe my phobia of 2007 as something close to crippling; the very thought of January the first makes me want to hurl myself out the window. Why? Because it means that the most horrifying thing in my life is fast approaching. School.
But no, except for my newfound terror (which has always been there, except it is now so much more pronounced) and emptiness, I am still quite the same.
Why? I can only say that I did not find what I was looking for there. North Island turned out to be a lot more different than I thought. It seems, that North Island has a more volcanic terrain as compared to South Island, which is so clearly mountainous. Which means North Island has all the geysers, volcanoes, hot springs and sulphur pools, while South Island gets all the snow-capped mountains, the rolling green hills and the lakes. North Island was utterly fascinating, yes, but it wasn't ... magical. Like South Island. There was no one place in the North where you could grab a cup of hot tea and settle down in a cold metal chair, surrounded by the Alps and a placid lake before you.
And so, I was glad to arrive in Taupo, where the scenery was something a little of that sort, but not close enough. But besides the fact that I failed to find even the littlest bit of my old self back there, North Island was amazing. We did a lot more things than last year, because we had four more people joining us. The shopping was done mostly in Auckland, and we got lost mostly in Auckland too. Auckland houses one quarter of the entire New Zealand population (one million out of four), and we spent loads of time driving up and down streets that were dotted with quaint little houses, utterly lost. Sightseeing was done in Rotorua, where we went on the Duck tours, driving alongside forests and boating into the Green and Blue lakes. It was in Rotorua that we had our first taste of the thermal wonderland that North Island was dubbed as. Our hotel was located right next to the Polynesian Spa, famous for its sulphur pools. Which meant that we were plagued with the smell of sulphur (which smelled of rotten eggs, by the way) whenever we opened our balcony door. We visited Wai-o-tapu, this famous thermal park where all the thermal activity was going on. It had mud pools, sulphur pools, mud terraces, geysers, hot springs; practically everything that had to do with the results of volcanic activity. We visited Hell's Gate in Rotorua, which was another thermal park like Wai-o-tapu, except that Wai-o-tapu was so much better. All Hell's Gate had was mud pools. We went for the mud spa there, too, and it stank like hell. The mud got between my nails and I couldn't wash them off for days.
On the way to Taupo from Rotorua, we went to the various lakes in the area, the Blue Lake, the Green Lake and Lake Tarawera. The lakes were huge, and really pretty, but nothing like Lake Wakatipu of Queenstown, South Island. We also visited the Buried Village on the way, which was pretty cool. It was completely buried by the ash when Mt Tarawera erupted, just like Pompeii.
Then it was on to Taupo, home to the largest lake in whole of New Zealand. Lake Taupo is said to be the size of Singapore (which is how the guidebooks all described it, haha) and surrounded by mountains (yay). But the thing was, only the lake was surrounded by mountains, the town wasn't, which sort of spoiled it. We went jet-boating and white water rafting while we were there. I do have pictures of us taking the Huka Jet to the Huka Falls (you know, one of those crazy boat rides where they take you for 360 degree spins - really fun) but I
don't have photos of us rafting. (top: Us, having lunch after rafting)We had to wear this amazingly tight wet suit to go rafting anyway, so luckily we don't have any photos of me in it. Rafting was really fun, and the river was two thirds made up of rapids, so we had to paddle like mad, and it got rather tiring after a while. But it was really fun whenever we rammed into a rock or went down an especially strong rapid, because then the water would start crashing around us in huge waves that rocked the raft like mad. Then next was the Bay of Plenty. There wasn't much there, we basically just lazed about doing nothing. Then from Bay of Plenty it was back to Auckland, where last minute shopping was done and where I sort of went crazy with the souvenirs. I thought, since we weren't going back there again, might as well buy as many things Mom would allow me to buy. And so I bought lots of weird stuff, like memo holders, keychaings, a cup, a bone necklace, some Maori balls, Kiwi biscuits, chocolate covered marshmallows and a nail clipper. And it was there that we flew back to Singapore, much to my dismay.
I just realized that this post is extremely long. And I hope someone reads it and decides to go to New Zealand for a holiday next year. Yay. I'm adding photos as part of my Go-Holidaying-in-New-Zealand campaign/advertisement.
Auckland.
Renee and I in Albert Park, Auckland. That's a clock in the background.
Renee giving a rather weird pose.
The Auckland Harbour.
The streets of Auckland. Lots of them were hilly, like the one above, Victoria Street.
The four of us squashed into the backseat of our car. We actually had two cars, but we always drove around town looking for places to eat in our dad's car.
The view from atop a hill in Auckland.
Us, looking so windswept, courtesy of the famous winds of Auckland.
Waitomo Caves, on the way to Rotorua, where we saw lots of glow worms.
The view over the city of Rotorua (it's a lot bigger than this) and Lake Rotorua. We took a cable car up to this mini-mountain.
Lady Knox Geyser at Wai-o-tapu Thermal Wonderland.
A boiling mud pool at Waiotapu.
Renee, eating McNuggets by the stinking sulphur pools.
This mineral lake at Waiotapu is nicknamed the Artist's Palette, because of all its various colours and its shape. The water has been discoloured at various places due to large amounts of minerals like sulphur.
The waterfall found during the trail throught the forest at the Buried Village site. It's really tall, and this is about the bottom half of it, because I couldn't fit it all into one picture.
One of the few family pictures, taken at the Artist's Palette.
A big group picture!
This one's called Bridal Veil Falls, which sounds kind of creepy to me (out of goth films: a dead bride coming back for revenge). At Waiotapu.
The four of us at a sulphur lake.
Audrey and Sara at an amazingly bright green sulphur pool (I think). It's so so green, it's practically fluorescent.
Lake Tarawera.
Uncle Chia attempting to catch a seagull at Lake Tarawera.
The Blue Lake. We took a ride in it on the Duck Tour.
A mud volcano at Hell's Gate.
Lake Taupo, the size of Singapore, from the balcony of our room.
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Sunset at Lake Taupo.
The four of us at the jetty at Lake Taupo.
Renee, looking extremely sad for some reason.
Posing for a picture, about to go onto the Huka Jet.
A 360 degree spin. That's me in the second row, next to my dad. April, Sara and Audrey are behind us.
Daily life, back at the hotel room at Taupo. The four of us shared a room, and Renee (who was staying next door with my parents) occasionally crept over.
The Huka Falls. Unlike other waterfalls, this one is extremely gradual, so it almost looks like a fast-flowing river (flowing at an amazing rate of what, 80km/hr? Or maybe a little slowing, I'm just guessing). If you fall in, you'll definitely die. The currents will suck you under, and the guide says that you'll probably stay underwater for 2-3 days.
The drop at the Huka Falls. The water is amazingly blue, because it's so pure that it reflects the sky.
The jetty at Lake Taupo.
Renee doing a panther-like pose on the picnic benches outside Waitomo Caves.
The rocky shores of the Bay of Plenty.
Some more rocky shores.
Renee, looking like a chip-munk.
Sunset at the Bay of Plenty.
Renee, looking dazed, on top of the bridge crossing a river.
A creepy walkway by the beach that looks like something out of a goth movie.
The view from our balcony at the Bay of Plenty.
Renee and my parents on top of the hill at Rotorua.
Renee, being incredibly vain (as usual), posing like she's a real life celebrity or something.
Phew. Yup, that's about it. We took 793 pictures all together (most of them taken by me of non-living things like sea, much to my dad's dismay).